


Bite Your Tongue

by hulksmash



Category: The Avengers (2012), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Because I can, Bruce was a shy kid, F/M, I think this is gonna be fluff with some angst, M/M, Mentions of past child abuse, Multi, Natasha is a saint, So Bear With me, Tony has no words, summaries are not my forte
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-20
Updated: 2013-06-23
Packaged: 2017-12-15 15:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/851124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hulksmash/pseuds/hulksmash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whilst trying to get rid of the Hulk, Bruce makes a calculation error leaving the rest of the Avengers with a kid who doesn't know who they are and has trust issues with people who aren't Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a little pet project to try & perfect my writing skills, so I hope you guys like it.

There isn't many things that can shock Tony Stark into full on silence. He's seen it all; a god with the strength of ten cars, a super soldier who was unbelievably handsome and had the power to match it, two greatly trained assassins, a hulk, and a Chitauri invasion, but this, this is probably going to have to go on the list of things that shock Tony Stark into silence.

  
There's a little boy in front of him, staring up at him with something akin of fear in his dark brown eyes. His curly hair sticks up wildly as if unkempt and his glasses dangle halfway off his face, as if they are about to fall off at any moment. His body is way too skinny for someone around his age, and his pants has fallen off, leaving only the shirt that is way too big for him. "Bruce," he breathes, matching the little boy's gaze. Said little boy jolts out of his mini freeze at the sound of Tony's voice and scrambles back a few feet, seeking shelter behind one of the tables in the lab. His tiny hand curls around the table lab and his breathing increases as he looks like he's about to cry. "Bruce, what did you do?"

  
Mini Bruce's bottom lip begins to tremble, eyes welling up in unshed tears, looking up at Tony as if he's about to hurt him. Tony has to fight the instinct to cuddle the little guy because this is Bruce he's thinking about. Bruce did always have an aversion from touch, and he didn't dare think it was different now that he is a kid.

  
"Jarvis," Tony murmurs, "What age would you put him around?"

  
The answer is almost immediate. _"Master Banner is approximately at the age of three."_

  
The little guy clenches the table leg a little harder at the sound of a new voice and he begins to cry. Tony starts, pushing himself forward. "What am I supposed to do?" he hisses.

  
" _Sir, if I am correct, you are supposed to hold him."_ And yeah, even he should know that, so he blatantly ignores the sarcastic tone in the robot's voice and inches closer to Bruce who flinches and jerks himself backwards, trying to make a quick get away.

  
"I'm not going to hurt you, Bruce. You've got to trust me on this one." he reaches out slowly, frowning at the way Bruce curls in on himself as if Tony is about to hit him. He gently pulls Bruce into his arms, lifting him up and patting him carefully on the back.

  
What really makes his heart clench is how silent the boy is despite his tears. Weren't kids his age supposed to have full blown, loud tantrums?

  
"What caused him to turn into this state?" Tony asks Jarvis as he shuffles out of the lab with his newly added weight.

  
"I believe he was trying to invent a way to get rid of the Hulk and miscalculated."

  
All sympathy is acutely blown out of the window and Tony tries--he really tries-- not to growl in fear of scaring Bruce more than he already is. Heck, he's scared himself; what if they can't get him back to normal? Tony feels Bruce's hand curl around his neck and grip his collar tightly, his little fist shaking.

  
He sighs. "It's gonna be okay, Bruce, we'll find a way to get you back to...normal." Bruce doesn't respond, just buries his wet face into Tony's neck and sniffles slightly.

  
Exhaling slowly, Tony adjusts Bruce on his hip and continues his walk to the Avengers hang out. Once there, Tony tries to put Bruce onto one of the beanbags but he doesn't let go. He instead tightens his grip on Tony's shirt and clings for the life of him.

  
"Were you this clingy when you were a kid?" Tony asks him with a small smile. "I haven't even seen your face properly." After a beat, Bruce shyly lifts his head from Tony's shoulder and peers at the older man. He reached out, almost hesitantly, and touches the beard that Tony had acquired a long time ago. Bruce giggles as he pets the beard, totally enrapt. He figures this is the best time to ask Bruce questions if he were to do it anyway.

  
"Bruce, do you know who I am?" he asks as he grabs the boy's hands and gently holds them between his. When Bruce cocks his head and shakes it softly, Tony groans. Of course. "My name is Tony. Can you say that for me?"

  
Bruce's eyebrows scrunch up in concentration and he opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He pouts adorably, bottom lip jutting out in frustration.

  
Ton grins at him. "Hey I get it, big guy. Things get frustrating, but if at first you don't succeed, try, try again." he doesn't know why he's quoting W.C. Fields at mini Bruce, but it's better than nothing.

  
Opening his mouth again, Bruce attempts to get the word out. "T..ony?" he phrases the word as a question then immediately buries his face into Tony's neck once more. He chuckles before moving to put Bruce down. At first he resists, but after some prying, Tony's able to get him on the beanbag.

  
"T-Tony?" Bruce asks, peering up at him through his lashes. "Where's my mommy?" his eyes are earnest and filled with hope, as if Tony can give him everything.

  
Before he can come up with a plausible lie, Steve strolls in wearing nothing but sweats with his towel in hand. "Hey, Tony," he says with a small smile, "Have you seen Thor anywhere? I've been trying to find him for a while."

  
Bruce startles and the next thing Tony knows, he's got an arm full of a little boy trying to climb into his lap, seeking protection. Tony unconsciously opens his arms a bit wider so that Bruce fits in and closes them back securely after Bruce tucks himself onto Tony's chest.

  
"Who is the little one?'' Steve asks curiously, as if he just noticed Bruce.

  
Bruce shies away from Steve's watchful gaze and rubs his eyes with one of his fists. With a sigh, he relaxes into Tony and fights to keep his eyes open.

  
"This," he says, "Is our green giant."

  
"Bruce?" Steve asks doubtfully, disbelief crossing his features.

  
"He was trying to get rid of the Hulk and this was his results." Tony can see Steve trying to process the information he's given, so Tony for once sits quietly and keeps a hold on Bruce who's close to sleep.

Steve scrubs a hand over his face and sighs, looking years older than he usually does. "I'll notify the rest of the team." As he walks back towards the door, he calls, "I hope we can find a way to cure him because it's going to be difficult winning battles without a Hulk."

 


	2. Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH! I'm so happy I got positive responses from last chapter! Here, have another! I was reading up on kid fics, so I absolutely had to crank out this chapter. 
> 
> Also, sorry if this chapter is a mess, I'm still sorting things out with my betas, and hopefully the next chapter will be so much better. Hope you enjoy :)

By the time Steve re-appears in the room, Bruce is asleep and Tony has no feeling in his arms. He'd put him down, but even as the boy sleeps, he's got a vice like grip on Tony's shirt as if he's afraid Tony will disappear if he lets go.

"Where are the others?" he asks.

Steve takes a seat on the other side of the couch. "Well, I can't find Thor, and Natasha and Clint are almost as impossible to find when they don't _want_ to be found. I don't even know if they're on  a mission or not."

A frown makes its way unto Tony's face and after a minute of serious contemplation, he sighs. "I'll find them. Here, take Bruce." Ignoring the way Steve stumbles over his words in an attempt to dissuade Tony from doing what he's thinking of doing, he gently pries Bruce's fingers from his shirt and hands him to Steve who takes him with a helpless look on his face.

"Cheer up, Cap," Tony says, patting his cheek with a shit eating grin. "It's not like he's going to go green on you."

He doesn't stick around to see Steve's panic-stricken gaze as he strides down the hall, heading for his lab. Tony had put GPS in the devices he'd given all of them when they moved into the tower, not that he'd ever admit that. It takes him less than a minute to find where they are, and he whistles all the way as he makes his way down to the basement, where his cars are. Picking the least flashy one, he slides in and heads for S.H.I.E.L.D.

_--_

"Is it really that important?" Clint whines as he detaches himself from Phil who looks just as disgruntled as Clint.

Natasha is wearing an impassive look, but her eyes are steely when they come on contact with Tony's. He smiles weakly and shifts his gaze to the lesser of the evil. "Yeah, sorry to interrupt this, but it's necessary."

Tony turns away to give them privacy, and when they're ready to leave, he turns to Phil and says, "If  it makes you feel better--"

" _Out!"_

"Leaving." Tony hustles out of the room with the two assassins in toe, leading them to where he had parked his car.

Clint whistles low, eyeing it up and down. "Now that has _got_ to be one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen."

A gasp leaves Tony's mouth and he runs a hand protectively over his car. "Don't insult my baby like that, she's a one of a kind, and the least flashiest I have." Clint snorts, but hops into the car in one smooth movement, moving over so that Natasha can climb in after him.

_--_

When the elevator stops, Tony walks out and finds Steve in the midst of a breakdown. "Where's Bruce?" Tony asks, smile sliding off his face.

Steve just points in the area of the kitchen and collapses onto the couch, seeming as if he's done with the world. "An hour after you left, he woke up and completely freaked out."

"What do you mean by 'he freaked out'?" Tony grinds out, making his way into the kitchen where Bruce is huddled underneath the table, eyes squeezed closed with tears pouring out of them.

"I mean that he looked frightened of me, freezing up in my arms. I tried to soothe him, but he kept trying to make himself smaller, so I put him down and he took off. I spent half of the time trying to get him out of the kitchen, yet every time I so much as touched him, he'd flinch away."

Tony pushes a hand through his hair and crouches down to meet Bruce's covered face. "Hey, little guy," he murmurs, reaching out his hand for Bruce to take. Bruce slowly raises his gaze to meet Tony's, and then he's throwing himself into Tony's arms, latching onto him like an octopus. Rubbing his back soothingly, Tony heads back into the Avengers hang out where Clint is staring at him, confused while Natasha raises an eyebrow.

"Tony," Clint starts, eyeing the child warily as if he were going to attack him at any moment. "Who is that?"

"And where is Banner?" Natasha pipes up, although he's pretty sure she's already got an inkling of what's going on.

Tony's eyes immediately flicker to Steve who's staring right back at him, clearly telling him that he is done and this is his problem.

"Meet Bruce Banner," he says.

Clint's eyes get wide and he swears, staring at Bruce as if he can't believe it. "You can't be serious."

"More serious than Fury's eye patch," Tony replies solemnly. Clint swears again, and closes his eyes for a brief second.

Natasha looks at Bruce, and then stares at Tony with her eyebrow cocked. "What about clothes for him? The shirt is basically falling off of his small frame."

If anyone were to accept the situation quickly, it would be Natasha. Tony welcomes the change of topic with a grin. "It's time to go shopping."

He sends a call to Pepper, asking her to bring him an outfit for a three year old and hangs up before she can ask why. If he makes Clint go down to get it and not allow her upstairs, then that's his business.

_--_

When they reach the store, Tony tosses shades and a head scarf to Natasha. "Publicity issues," he says as a way of explaining. "I don't really need people hounding us and asking me why I have a kid."

He tries to set Bruce on the pavement, but he refuses to let go of Tony, his heart picking up speed. "Hey, hey," Tony soothes, "I'll be right here. You can even hold my hand if that makes you feel better."

Bruce hesitates for a moment, then lets himself be put down before he grabs Tony's hand in a death grip. "Ready to go get some clothes?" he asks.

"Yes," Bruce says shyly, ducking his head into Tony's arm. He grins and they all walk into the store, heading for the children's section.  The first aisle they see houses pajamas, so they go there first.

"See any you like?" Tony asks, then picks up an Iron Man pajama set. "How about this one?" Bruce shakes his head with a bashful smile. Tony would coo at how cute Bruce was being, except Natasha is now holding up at Batman set, kneeling to match Bruce's height.

"Would you like this one?" she asks him with a soft, disarming smile. This time, Bruce nods his head and reaches out to take it, all while Tony splutters indignantly. He's about to demand that they get a different set because Batman is going _nowhere_  near his house, but when Natasha's smile turns hard as she shifts her stare to him, he shuts his mouth and begrudgingly allows Bruce to take the clothes. He figures that this is Natasha's way of getting back at him for ruining her and Clint's time with Phil.

An elderly woman walks up to them, thankfully making them break eye contact. "You both have a beautiful son,"she says, staring fondly at Bruce who looks at her with one a shy smile set on his face. "What's his name?"

"Bruce," Tony says before Natasha can say anything. He wraps an arm around Natasha's waist and curls his other arm around Bruce's shoulders. "Thank you for the compliment, my _wife_ here just loves talking about him, don't you _hun_?"

"Why, yes I do, Anthony," Natasha replies, encircling an arm around his waist also and squeezing painfully hard. Tony doesn't care, it's worth it. No one brings Batman into his house without getting punished. She can kill him later, but for now, he leaves her with the elderly lady and takes Bruce to get more clothes.

_--_

By the time they're done shopping, Bruce is leaning heavily against Tony, half asleep. It is well past eight o' clock, so he understands because kids his age get tired easily. Shoving the bags into the back of the trunk, he lifts Bruce into the new car seat they bought and buckles him in, allowing him to slouch down after that. It seems as if he has no problems with being separated from Tony when with a female, but when in big, open spaces, or with another male, Bruce will tense up and cling to Tony. He can only guess why.

It takes them a little less than a half an hour to get back home, and Bruce flops tiredly onto Tony's shoulder when he lifts him up. "Buddy, you haven't eaten yet," he says, trying to keep Bruce awake, but to no avail. He falls asleep by the time they get upstairs, and Tony sighs.

When he's settled in bed, Tony stares at him fondly, then turns off the light. Now it's time for him to get serious about finding a cure for Bruce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are my life, so please drop a comment and kudos! 
> 
> Plot for the next chapter: Bruce is frightened by a nightmare, Thor is found, and Natasha & Clint finally get some down time with Coulson


End file.
